May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada, a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions that Asian Canadians have made and continue to make. While it’s a time to celebrate Asian culture, it’s also a time to reflect the hardships and perseverance of the Asian community in Canada and around the world.
Though Asian Heritage Month has been celebrated since the 1990s, the Canadian Senate adopted a motion proposed by Senator Vivienne Poy to officially designate May as Asian Heritage Month in Canada In December 2001. In May 2002, the Government of Canada signed an official declaration to announce May as Asian Heritage Month.
What is Anti-Asian racism?
In Canada, anti-Asian racism refers to historical and ongoing discrimination, negative stereotyping, and injustice experienced by peoples of Asian origin, based on others’ assumptions about their ethnicity and nationality. Peoples of Asian origin are subjected to specific overt and subtle racist tropes and stereotypes at individual and systemic levels, which lead to their ongoing social, economic, political and cultural marginalization, disadvantage and unequal treatment.
The term Asian encompasses such a wide range of identities that the very term Asian can become obscure. While all may experience being “otherized,” specific experiences of anti-Asian racism vary.
How we can fight anti-Asian racism
Here are some ways we can all contribute to tackling anti-Asian racism and building an even better and more inclusive society:
- Educate yourself about the vast diversity within the pan-Asian community and the distinct identities and cultures that have enriched Canadian society.
- Challenge stereotypes and recognize their origins in the historical context of anti-Asian racism.
- Demonstrate solidarity with Asian communities in Canada by buying from local Asian businesses and supporting relevant organizations.
- Be an ally denouncing instances of racism, discrimination, and microaggressions, and actively advocating for those affected by anti-Asian bias.
- Address unconscious biases and reflect on how they may influence actions and decision-making processes.
Resources for this hub have been pulled from the Government of Canada’s Asian Heritage Month landing page as well as its digital toolkit.
This month, we’re celebrating Asian Heritage Month by highlighting our Asian Canadian team members!
Meet Falguni
Falguni Debnath is a volunteer Experience Advisor who has been working with WCH for 2 years. A lawyer by trade, Falguni reminisces about the beautiful Bengali landscape and culture from which she used to call home, and her experiences transitioning to becoming a Canadian. Read more about her feelings about Falguni’s Asian heritage, her experience working within Canada’s legal system and why she loves working with WCH.
Meet Yonda!
Yonda Lai is a project manager who has been on the WCH team for nearly three years. As a second-generation Chinese woman living in Toronto, Yonda shares how Asian Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the vibrant tapestry of Asian cultures that have shaped her identity and enriched the multicultural fabric of Toronto. Yonda also delves into the fascinating history of Hong Kong, its impact on today’s Chinese population and the beautiful landscape of the region.
Meet Karen
To celebrate Asian Heritage Month, we are continuing to celebrate our Asian-Canadian team members, including Karen Ng, a pharmacist in TAPMI and professional practice specialist who has been with WCH for 7.5 years! Karen opens up about her East Asian roots and share why it is important to create space for the diverse cultures within the large and diverse continent.
To continue your learning and celebration of Asian Heritage Month throughout the month of May and beyond, we’ve compiled a list of helpful resources below:
- Anti-Racism Toolkit (PDF format) – Canadian Federation of Students
- This is what anti-Asian racism looks like in Canada
- Anti-Asian Racism Resources – Human Resources Student Association, Ryerson University
- Fight anti-Asian racism – Cultivating Growth and Solidarity, A Mental Health Hub for Asian Communities in Canada
- Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice – Fight Racism in Canada! – Video Series
- Anti-Racism Toolkit (PDF format) – Canadian Federation of Students
- Faces of Racism
- Anti-Asian racism: Preparing for a changing workforce
Celebrate Asian Heritage Month with these online and print recourses curated by Toronto Public Library:
Download a full book list here
More Resources (Films)
- Old Stone (China)
- Funeral Parade with Roses (Japan)
- Bollywood Beats (India)
- Sweet Bean (Japan)
- Shanghai Triad (China)
- The Tag Along (Taiwan)
- What Will People Say (Pakistan)
- Remittance (Philippines)
- The Handmaiden (Korea)
- Pop Aye (Thailand)
- Ploy (Thailand)
- The Third Wife (Vietnam)
- Daughter of the Nile (Taiwan)
- Dukhtar (Pakistan)
By Heather Gardiner
May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada, and in recognition of this awareness month, the Miss Margaret Robins Archives of Women’s College Hospital (WCH) is sharing the inspiring story of Phyllis Yagi. As a young Japanese Canadian girl growing up in British Columbia during World War II, Yagi overcame great challenges during her early life to achieve her professional ambition of becoming a hospital pharmacist. For almost four decades she served as WCH’s head pharmacist and is credited with developing its Department of Pharmacy into a strong teaching unit.
Yagi was born in Vancouver, B.C., to Tokujiro and Umeko Takenaka. Her father supported his family as a bookkeeper while her mother looked after Yagi and her younger brother in the family’s large three-storey house in the city.
However, Yagi’s life dramatically changed when she was just twelve years old. On December 7, 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbour, Canada declared war on Japan. For Japanese Canadians, this declaration of war sadly meant increased suspicion, harassment and anti-Asian discrimination.
In February 1942, the federal government announced all people of Japanese ancestry, even those who were born in Canada or were naturalized citizens, were to be removed from the west coast of B.C. The following month, Yagi and her family were forcibly removed from their home and relocated to the Bay Farm internment camp in Slocan, B.C. It is estimated that approximately 22,000 Japanese Canadians were forced into internment camps during this time. Only one year later, the federally funded Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property notified Yagi’s family that their home and all their possessions that had been confiscated had now been sold.
Her family remained at the internment camp until after the war. Like all Japanese Canadian internees, they were given the option of being deported to Japan or relocated to communities east of the Rocky Mountains. In 1946, Yagi and her family made the difficult choice to leave B.C. and start a new life in Guelph, Ontario.
There, Yagi attended Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute before she was accepted to the Ontario College of Pharmacy (now part of UofT). In 1952, she was one of only two women to graduate in her class with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (B.Sc.Phm). After graduating, she was offered the job of head pharmacist at WCH.
Shortly after joining Women’s College, Yagi became aware that the hospital was beginning negotiations with UofT to become a teaching hospital. As a recent graduate, Yagi believed that practical experience in a hospital would greatly benefit those who wanted to pursue careers in the specialized field of hospital pharmacy.
In 1958, Yagi helped to establish Ontario’s first post-graduate program in hospital pharmacy at WCH in partnership with UofT. She then continued to expand WCH’s hospital pharmacy teaching program by offering learning opportunities to undergraduate students at UofT’s Faculty of Pharmacy.
In 1962, she became a founding member of the Canadian Hospital Pharmacy Residency Board. This board would eventually become the national body in charge of the accreditation of hospital pharmacy residency programs throughout Canada. Her dedication to the promotion of teaching and mentorship in the field of hospital pharmacy earned her the Ortho Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Achievement and recognition as a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists.
In 1989, Yagi retired from WCH’s Department of Pharmacy. “Under [Yagi’s] direction and leadership, the Pharmacy Department has developed into a high standard of proficiency,” shared friend and colleague Margaret Robins at her retirement party. “Throughout her years of service, she has participated and contributed fully to all aspects of hospital programs. Her many friends and colleagues will always remember her as a friendly and caring person. Both personally and professionally, she has contributed much to Women’s College Hospital.”
After enduring what the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia “now acknowledge[s] as one of the worst human rights violations in B.C.’s history,” Phyllis Yagi fulfilled her professional ambition of becoming a hospital pharmacist. Yagi dedicated almost four decades of her career as WCH’s head pharmacist to teaching and mentoring the next generation of hospital pharmacists. This Asian Heritage Month we recognize and celebrate the achievements of Phyllis Yagi and the contributions of the entire Asian community to Canada’s cultural fabric.